GO-Biz established the innovation hub network in 2010 when then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office saw the need to stimulate California's struggling economy.The idea behind the initiative is simple: Give California an edge in national and global competitiveness "by stimulating partnerships, economic development, and job creation around specific research clusters through state-designated iHubs."The iHub concept is meant to encourage regional businesses and entrepreneurs to establish partnerships with other agencies, like universities, community colleges and federal labs. The partnership would allow for the facilitation of an incubator or start-up businesses along with the ability to pool resources.While iHubs spread from an initial six in 2010 to 12 in 2012, iHub remained an unofficial project until September, when Brown signed Assembly Bill 250 into law.AB 250, written by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D — Pasadena), codifies the iHub initiative into California law. The iHub system now has teeth as part of Brown's agenda to develop a grand business plan for the state.Since the dissolution of the state's redevelopment agencies in 2012, to plug a hole in the state's hemorrhaging budget, California cities have lacked ways to stimulate economic development projects.One key part of forming an iHub is partnering with a university, in addition to tapping into the public and private sectors. Another is that it is directly integrated into a working partnership with the GO-Biz office itself.In July, Brown overhauled California's enterprise zones —which have provided hiring tax credits to employers in certain regions for years — with a few strokes of his pen when he signed AB 93 and SB 90. He did so with the intent of creating a statewide enterprise zone. Some concessions were by Brown, including allowing current enterprise zones to maintain existing mandates for 10 years. The final deadline for businesses in those enterprise zones to apply for a hiring tax credit is Dec. 31, 2014.The pair of bills, tied in with more recent business legislation, is seen by the Brown administration as a way to promote business opportunities. Brown's new statewide enterprise zone gives some advantages to businesses, including establishing a statewide sales tax exemption on all manufacturing and research and development equipment purchases, hiring credits in areas with high levels of unemployment and poverty.Kish Rajan, director of GO-Biz, said that codification of the iHubs is another step in thrusting California into the lead of business development."This is the largest network of innovation hubs in the country," Rajan said. "By codifying them, it will allow GO-Biz to actively promote them individually and as a collective."He added that the collective part is an important element in everything. By promoting the iHub network as a whole, an opportunity exists to show that California has infrastructure in place to foster development in new projects while allowing each iHub to tap into one another. "We can continue to cultivate a more hospitable environment for business development," Rajan said. Rajan added that AB 250 will give the innovation hubs some teeth, especially since a special account has been incorporated into California's economy.The account allows private investors to contribute to the development and progress of the iHubs in an account specifically set up for the iHubs."This entire thing will allow us to harness California's full potential as an innovator," Rajan said.

(This article updates which governor's administration established the iHub program.)

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